Troubling Dreams
by Nottoca
Summary: They had a routine, something that was easy. He proclaimed his love for her and she denied him at every turn. So why does he keep showing up in her dreams? Shunsui x Nanao. Fluff & Lemon warning. COMPLETE.
1. Chapter 1

this is my first multi-chapter fic, so yes, i do have an attention-span, no matter how little i use it (yep, that's it for the next month - oh, look a bird). i'm sure someone else has already done this sort of plot and its kinda cliché, but i still want to give it a shot, seeing as it was running around in my head for so long. i'm sure there are times i go OOC, but i have a hard time writing Shunsui. let's just say i wrote under an assumption that when not in a large group, Shunsui looses some of his dramatics. i'm going to start this fic as K+ but it'll probably change. oh, yeah, i also tend to go comma-happy. sorry.

Disclaimer: I'm only going to say this once - Bleach doesn't belong to me cause if it did, I wouldn't still be looking for a job.

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Clearing a section of grass free of petals from the sakura trees, Nanao sat on the bank of a stream. The view was wonderful; all the trees, covered in the pink and white petals of spring and with each gust of wind, they fell like snow. She liked watching the petals that landed in the stream the best. The shallow water flowing over the rocky streambed eddied and splashed so when the flower petals fell onto the water, they looked like dozens of little boats, floating and swirling in the current. Every spring she came to sit and enjoy the beauty of the season. It also gave her time to think, because this year she came with a problem unlike any other. 

She'd been having strange dreams. They weren't nightmares or anything she would wake up screaming from, but they were, well, strange. And her taicho was in them all. The dreams were starting to get more intense and while it had been just a kiss, her emotional reaction to that kiss was where the problem lied. She enjoyed it and couldn't stop thinking about it. It was inappropriate, foolish and irresponsible. _Just like him_.

He really didn't have these sorts of feelings toward her; he hit on _every_ female member of the 8th division, and a few of the men, too. A good portion of her time was dealing with transfer requests.

She laid back and watched the swaying branches above. Petal danced in the air before covering the ground like a blanket. Several fell on her, but she didn't care. She only closed her eyes for a second…

..**. ooo OOO ooo OOO ooo ...**

"Nanao-chan." His deep voice broke thru her sleep, jolting her awake. She quickly sat up in a flutter of petals to see Kyoraku taichou lying on the grass next to her. "Do not be alarmed, I'll protect my fair Nanao-chan. Although I thought you knew better than to let your guard down out here; it's not safe. Some horrible brute may have tried to force himself on you. You didn't even put up a barrier." Nanao let the remark slide. She did know better and though she hadn't meant to fall asleep, she had been so tired. At least she hadn't dreamed.

"How did you find me, sir?"

"Its spring during working hours and you aren't in the office. This is your favorite viewing spot so it's only logical that you would be here, Nanao-chan."

"Now if you would only put that much thought into your reports…" Nanao murmured.

"You must be more careful, I could not continue to live if any harm came to my Nanao-chan."

Nanao sniffed to express her skepticism. "Then you might have to do some of your own paperwork. It wasn't my intention to fall asleep, sir, I just nodded off." She hesitated, not wanting to tell him why and hoping he wouldn't ask for details. "I guess I just haven't been feeling very well."

"What?" He sat up and looked at her with concern. "You should have told me sooner!"

With his usual dramatic flair, he swept her up into his arms and with a few shunpo, was standing before the 4th division's main building.

"What do you think you are doing?" She cried out, hitting his chest with her hands with very little effect. Perhaps it wasn't the best idea to leave her book at home today. "I've just been tired recently! I don't need to see anyone at the 4th division! Put me down!" Damn, he was still holding her tight to his chest… and it felt good. _No! No that wasn't the point!_ He was overreacting again and she had to find a way to put a stop to this.

"Nothing is more important than the health of my Nanao-chan!"

"**I said to** **PUT. ME. DOWN**." She said in a commanding voice. Without even saying a spell, a fiery blue sphere immediately formed in her hand, rapidly increasing in size. All mobile shinigami in the area fled from their path, understanding the potential repercussions of Nanao's demands being ignored. The injured shinigami hid under blankets or attempted to shield their bodies as best they could. She was one of the most skilled shinigami with demon magic in all of soul society and when she was ruffled, she was more likely to loose control over that great power. And the only thing that could ruffle her that much had her clenched in his arms.

Unohana taicho sat behind her desk, giving them an inquisitive look when they entered her office unannounced. Of course, she had heard the overly loud captain as soon as he entered the building, not to mention the general cries of her staff attempting to safeguard their patients. The ball of fire was now slightly larger than a basketball and still growing. Unohana spoke with her usual calm, quiet voice, "Ise fukutaicho please disperse your ball of flames and Shunsui taicho, please set your fukutaicho down."

The ball reduced in circumference until it was the size of a golf ball, disappearing with a small pop. Shunsui, still holding Nanao's upper body to his chest, released the grip on her legs. He lowered her to the wood floor but still held her clutched to his body. Nanao still looked rather pissed.

"And, now, what can I do for you two today," Unohana asked, as if this was any ordinary visit.

"My Nanao-chan is ill!"

"I am not ill! I'm tired! And you can let me go now." Nanao's glare could have melted any normal person to a puddle. Shunsui was immune to it, obviously from decades of practice, Unohana mused silently. While he did release her, he threw one of his pitiful looks toward Nanao. The girl took a few steps away, still glaring at him.

"Sir, we don't need to bother Unohana taicho with this!"

"Ise-fukutaicho, why don't you stay and we'll run a few tests and we'll let Shunsui taichou return to his paperwork?" Oddly enough, that one sentence allowed both parties to feel like they had gotten their way yet that they had both been given a small reproach at the same time.

"Very well, I leave my Nanao-chan in your very capable hands Unohana taicho. Please make her well again and I will be forever grateful!" With a swirl of pink fabric, Shunsui was gone.

"Do you think he'll actually go do some paperwork?" Nanao asked.

"In all the years you've worked with him, has he ever voluntarily done paperwork?" Unohana smiled and gestured to a seat. "Would you care for some tea?"

"Please let me get it." Nanao said as she retrieved the tea set from a small table by the door and brought it over to the small sitting area. As she poured the tea, Unohana appraised her. She looked perfectly fine. A little dark under the eyes, but otherwise normal.

"Please excuse my taicho; he tends to overreact."

"He is concerned about you."

"I am perfectly fine."

"What exactly is the problem?"

"I've just been feeling a little tired."

"Problems sleeping?"

"My dreams have been a bit… strange recently. I sometimes wake up in the middle of the night and have trouble returning to sleep. I'm sure it will all go away in time."

"Are they bad dreams?"

"Not exactly, they're just strange dreams."

"Strange how?"

"It's not really important." Nanao stared into her cup of tea and blushed lightly.

"Ah, that kind of dream. Don't worry, I won't say anything to anyone."

Nanao's face flushed more knowing that Unohana had guessed accurately.

"I'll be back in a moment." Unohana slipped out the door, leaving Nanao still staring at her tea.

_What was going on with her! Now she was unable to control her emotions; blushing like that_. She sat with head bowed until Unohana came back with a small bottle. Attempting to wipe the emotions from her face, Nanao looked at Unohana.

"If its just a matter of not getting enough sleep, take one of these pills before going to bed and it should help with those dreams. It may take a night or two to work. And I won't speak of them or your dreams to anyone."

Nanao reluctantly took the bottle. She stood and bowed. "Thank you, Unohana taichou. I will try them." With a small bow, Unohana returned to her desk as Nanao left her office.

_It would be interesting to see how this played out_, Unohana thought.

..**. ooo OOO ooo OOO ooo ...**

Nanao lay awake in bed, thinking about the dream that had woken her up. When the dreams began, she was just reliving their moments together, things like her watching his battles with hollows when on patrol or the first time she had finally found him sleeping on the roof after 3 hours of frantic searching for him.

This was different. Tonight she dreamed of how he had carried her in his arms to take her to the 4th division this afternoon. Her true reaction at the time had been instinctual. Held in his arms like that, the only way to express her annoyance in a way he would understand was to form a ball of fire and threaten him with it. It was perfectly logical and reasonable. But she had hesitated a moment before forming it and she later realized she had felt more emotions than just annoyance. These weren't logical emotions nor were they sensible and her very nature was to be sensible and to be in control of any and every situation. Not only that, but she had hesitated, which when battling with an opponent, would leave an opening that making her vulnerable to an attack. That was inexcusable.

In her dream she hadn't held a fireball and she certainly wasn't annoyed at being held in his arms. Staring into his eyes, the look he gave her left her with a hollow feeling in her stomach and a tightness in her chest. It wasn't the joking look he usually gave her with his consistent overdramatic declarations of love. It was more; it was sweet and sincere and it triggered a longing that up until that moment, she had never known she had.

It was those little things like his scent, the warmth of his body and the care with which he held her so close that could not be easily forgotten. Even though it had been mid-morning, he had a scent of sake and dumplings about him – it was _his_ scent and she enjoyed it.

He'd lowered his head to press his lips to hers. His lips were soft and smooth and when her mouth opened slightly for a breath, his tongue slipped between her lips. The taste of sake and dumplings lingered after they parted. Her arms wrapped gently around his neck, pulling her body closer to him. When their lips met again, his ridiculous hat tumbled forward and fell to the ground, unnoticed. That kiss was full of promise and possibilities and had her yearning for more. There was an unspoken desire from both of them to press as much of their bodies together as possible.

With a jerk, she brought her mind back to reality. Silently berating herself, she sighed and turned to lie on her side. She needed to go back to sleep but all she could think about was that dream. Maybe tomorrow night she would try the pills Unohana gave her.

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Please review! I want to know if I should continue… Thank you 


	2. Chapter 2

the rating changed. i think i've figured out the ending (well, anyone can guess the ending) so i needed to up the rating. (lemon)

thank you to everyone who reviewed! i really like to hear if people enjoy what i write (i'm a review-whore).

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It was his hands that distracted Nanao this morning. She couldn't take her eyes off of his hands. They seemed over-sized for his body yet had a lean strength about them from handling his dual zanpakuto. Both hands had superficial scars from years of battles, but his right hand had a deep scar running across the back. The skin was puckered lightly. When had that happened? It must have been quite a while ago because it seemed fully healed but she couldn't recall him being wounded there recently and she remembered all his injuries, especially if he'd gotten them trying to protect her or another member of his division. His fingernails were clipped short, at a good manageable length. 

Large, strong and calloused, she wondered what it would feel like to have those fingers running over her body. To have the rough pads stroking her cheek, to feel him run his hands down her sides and over her curves, to have his arms wrapped around her holding her body close to his. Those hands struggling to open her clothes, feeling those fingers stroking her bare flesh or his fingers entering her…

She was brought back to reality by her taicho waiving those hands to get her attention. She blushed lightly and looked down at her notepaper. They were in the middle of a meeting! A very boring meeting, but that was no excuse. Things were getting worse; now whenever she saw him she couldn't prevent her mind from wandering.

Once the meeting was over and they were walking back to the 8th division, he broached the subject.

"What is it you are worrying about this time, Nanao-chan? Perhaps the division has had a celebration while we were gone? I do hope they left me some sake. Do you think they could have found my reserves?" His tone was slightly playful but it held the undercurrent of a serious inquiry about her wandering attention in the meeting.

"Sir, you have several sake reserves. Even if they had found all of them, it is unlikely that even the entire division could consume that much alcohol in the short time we have been gone." Nanao replied. "And still be alive." She added.

"Nanao-chan, you're not answering my first question." Shunsui glanced over at the girl, trying to read her expression.

"It's nothing sir. I had merely gotten lost in thought for a moment," she said as she adjusted her glasses. She plastered her usual unemotional mask over her face, allowing her to stare him in the face temporarily. When she realized her cheeks were starting to flush uncomfortably, she turned her head before he could see the extra color. With a small sigh, she realized she could no longer look him in the face without embarrassment. All she could think of were the unprofessional emotions churning in her body. Now, even her daily mask was cracking and would soon be ineffective.

His usually long strides were shortened allowing her to keep pace with him without running. "Nanao-chan, you've been acting rather strangely the past few days. Whatever the problem, you know you can always talk to me." Shunsui said with a serious tone. Out of concern, all his usual flirtatious antics had been left by the wayside. Nanao didn't miss that fact and it set her mind reeling. For him to become serious, her actions must have been glaringly abnormal.

"Really, its nothing sir." She would need to be more careful.

..**. ooo OOO ooo OOO ooo ...**

"Ran-chan, something is wrong with Nanao and she refuses to tell me what it is." Shunsui took a sip from his sake and reached for a dumpling. "She's even been avoiding me recently. Has she said anything to you?"

Matsumoto poured herself another cup of sake – it was still a little too early for her to start drinking straight from the bottle. He must really be worried if he's dropped all his usual antics. "No, she's said nothing to me. But she's avoiding you? That's a twist - usually you're the one avoiding her. If she won't tell you, how do you know something is wrong?"

Shunsui's hands played idly with the bottle between them, picking at the label , passing the bottle from hand to hand and finally abandoning the bottle to line all the corks up in a row. "She was daydreaming during a meeting and she was late with a report."

At his words, Matsumoto looked at his face, trying to determine if he was teasing her. "You're serious aren't you? Nanao? Late with paperwork? I didn't think it was even possible."

"Neither did I and there's more. She hasn't even come looking for me. I haven't completed or signed any paperwork for almost a week now. Recently, she hasn't thrown or hit me with anything either. Something is definitely bothering her."

"Hmmm. Throwing things at you has always been her favorite method of blowing off steam."

"I'm worried about my little flower, but she won't tell me anything. She just brushes it off as being tired and disappears." He drank down another cup and refilled his cup from the bottle.

"I wonder what is running through her head. Don't worry Shun-kun, I'll find out if I have to torture her to get it." Matsumoto was getting close to the drinking-straight-from-the-bottle stage.

"Perhaps torture is a bit extreme…"

"Ah, but what is torturous is to you is completely different for her. To you, torture would be hiding all your sake. For her, maybe I could just mess up her desk."

"Ano, I wouldn't suggest it." Shunsui said rubbing his head. The last time she had thrown a rather full trashcan. "She's got a wicked throwing arm and pin-point accuracy. Besides, she would probably blame it on me."

"But she would talk to you then."

"No, she'd yell at me then and hit me with something."

"I thought you were worried about her because she hasn't done that recently?"

"I can live without the physical abuse. I merely said it was a sign that she hasn't been herself. I want to know what's wrong not to torment her."

"Very well, no torture. Sometimes you take all of the fun out of things. Don't worry, I'll do whatever it takes to find out what's wrong." She struggled to pop the cork off of a new bottle and rewarded herself with a long drink right from the bottle.

..**. ooo OOO ooo OOO ooo ...**

With a jerk, she awoke and sat upright in bed. Her whole body was bathed in a cold sweat, her hair now plastered to her face and she was gasping for breath. Pressing a hand to her chest, as if the gesture could slow the rapid beats of her heart, she took deep breaths and tried to calm down.

What a dream! She pulled her knees to her chest, closed her eyes and rested her head on her knees. It had all seemed so real! The tingling trail his fingers left as they ran over her body, his hot breath on her neck, his deep voice whispering to her. When she realized she was alone in her bed a feeling of emptiness enveloped her. She tried to shake off the images from the dream, but now she only felt more alone. To chase away the isolation, she reluctantly allowed the dream to play through her mind.

She had been sitting on his lap, her head against his chest listening to him speak. His words were muffled and she couldn't make out exactly what he what he was saying but the low timbre of his voice relaxed her and gave her a sense of security. When she looked at him, he was watching her and seemed to be studying her face intently. When she looked in his dark eyes reflected her image. Cupping her chin, he guided her lips to his, allowing them to meet in a gentle kiss. She felt the tip of his tongue trace the outline of her bottom lip and opened her mouth to greet his tongue with hers. They playfully stroked and teased each other, once again allowing the lingering taste of sake from his mouth transfer to hers. One hand pulled the clip out of her hair allowing the long strands to flow over his arm and down her back. He gently stroked her hair with a rough hand and grasped her waist with the other, holding her close and unable to escape - not that she wanted to escape. With growing desire, her hands reached for his belt, needing to feel his bare chest pressed against her body. She wanted his hands to -

No! Stop it! What was happening to her? And why was she thinking of her taicho like this? Was she going crazy? They had worked together for years, no, for decades so why were these thoughts troubling her now? What had happened or changed recently to bring such thoughts to her mind? Was it something that he said or he'd done?

Eyes closed, she thought back over the past few months. Nothing out of the ordinary, nothing major had changed. Routines were the same; she completed all the paperwork and hunted him down for his signature. There were the usual meetings, drills, patrols… nothing came to mind.

Wait.

Something _had_ happened. One night when she made the usual trip to the bar to retrieve her captain, she had found Matsumoto and Shunsui passed out on the floor of the small alcove in the bar. She was partially spread across his chest and he had his arms around her, the majority of their clothes in small piles around them. Until then, she had thought they were only friends, but perhaps she was wrong. They were drunk at the time, but even while drunk, a person wouldn't do something that they weren't inclined to do sober. She left them lying in their small alcove, not bothering to bring him home. A drunken taicho was fairly easy to get home – a passed out taicho was more than she could deal with. She went back a few hours later but the pair had been gone. And, although at the time, while she didn't remember any different emotions, when she looked back at it, there was a twinge of something. Could she have been jealous of Matsumoto? Could that be what had started the dreams? He'd been with other women and it hadn't bothered her in the least. Why did her taicho being with Matsumoto bother her more than any other woman?

How did she really feel about him? Yes, he could be a ridiculous figure. Over dramatic, irresponsible, flirtatious, a drunk, the list could go on forever. But he had a serious side that could appear at the strangest of times, usually when she needed it the most. And if she ever needed someone to count on, someone to protect her, he was there.

These were not good thoughts. She shouldn't think about her taicho like this, it would only lead to problems. Beside the fact he regularly publicly proclaimed his love for her simply to annoy her and not because he really meant anything by it, a relationship between a taicho and his second wasn't appropriate. And she wasn't the type of woman he truly liked. She had a quiet, stiff, formal and sober personality, and while intelligent and efficient, she was no great beauty. She also lacked the bubbly personality and the… physical attributes of someone like Matsumoto.

Thoughts like this were getting her nowhere; tomorrow night she would definitely take that sleeping tablet.

She lay back down and wrapped her blanket tightly around her. With enough imagination, it almost felt like she wasn't alone; that someone was holding her in his arms.

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Again, please review! 


	3. Chapter 3

i want to thank everyone who reviewed. please continue to feed the ego (watch out, it bites). i like to hear people are reading what i write, it makes it worth the effort of posting - my frustration tolerance and HTML skills are both minimal. please continue to review!

**... ooo OOO ooo OOO ooo ...**

"Nanao-chan isn't paying attention!" Yachiru complained banging her gavel on the table. If Nanao ever found out who gave her that gavel, she would shove it up their-

Bang, Bang! "Nanao-chan! Pay attention!"

"I'm sorry, what did I miss?"

From across the table Matsumoto gave her a strange look.

Once the Women's Shinigami Association meeting was finished, Rangiku swept over, grabbed Nanao's ever-present book and paperwork and pulled her to the door by her sleeve. "Come on, I haven't talked to you for days so we definitely have to go out for a drink."

"Now? Ran-chan, it isn't even after noon." Nanao tried to point out while gathering her things from her friend.

"You're absolutely right! We'll have lunch with some sake!"

Surprisingly enough, Nanao agreed knowing she would probably be the one eating lunch and Matsumoto would be the one having the sake. Actually, after the past few days and nights, a drink was starting to sound good. Yet again she had spaced off in a meeting and this time she did it twice in the same meeting! Maybe if she drank enough she could take a nap without dreaming. It was entirely possible sake could make the dreams worse, although she was having trouble trying to figure out how.

When Matsumoto mentioned stopping by the division to see if Shunsui wanted to join them, Nanao stammered that she really didn't have time for lunch and if she was going back to the office she might as well stay there and get some work done.

"Okay, Just the two of us." Matsumoto said leading Nanao to her favorite noodle shop. Shunsui had been right. For some reason, Nanao was avoiding him. Matsumoto had been trying to set the two of them up since the girl first became his fukutaicho. In Matsumoto's opinion, their personalities complemented each other perfectly. But if Nanao didn't even want to have lunch with him, then something must have happened between the two of them and now that her curiosity was piqued, Matsumoto knew she would have to find out why.

Matsumoto spent the next hour and a half trying to get Nanao to open up but nothing worked. Every leading question she asked came to a dead end. Nanao either wasn't paying enough attention or deliberately stopped the line of conversation. It was the spacing off that Matsumoto found most interesting. Whenever she spoke more than a sentence at a time, she would have to pull Nanao's mind back to the table. She also seemed to forget about eating but not the drinking. To Matsumoto's surprise, Nanao had two cups of sake. She knew of one other time Nanao had imbibed alcohol in the middle of the day and that was after a particularly messy battle with some hollows before they were both fukutaicho. They'd both lost several friends in that battle but both came out physically uninjured. From their excellent recommendations by a supervising captain, promotions came soon after that but Matsumoto still had some nightmares about that fight.

Once Nanao had eaten a few bites of her noodles and finished her sake, she quickly excused herself explaining there was another meeting she needed to attend. Matsumoto stayed long enough to finish the bottle before returning to her captain's office for a nap on his couch.

**... ooo OOO ooo OOO ooo ...**

"My opinion is that she's in love." Matsumoto stated, waving to the bartender for another bottle of sake.

"What?" Shunsui almost dropped his cup. He paused for a moment to run this new information through his mind. In all the years he's worked with her, she'd never even been on a date. Well, not that he knew of. Sure, she had a few friends, but he'd never heard of her having a romantic attraction to anyone. Not even to him. The thought of her with another man left him with a hollow feeling in his chest.

"Who is he?"

"How do you know it's a he?"

"Hummm… " Shunsui's mind wandered and kicked that thought around a few times. Nanao and who… Matsumoto? He looked at her. Oh, yes he could see the two of them together. That wouldn't be bad. Actually, he'd really like to be able to see that. Of course he would like to do more than watch, too, but…

Matsumoto saw the dreamy look on his face and said, "Not me, you idiot."

"Who, then?"

Matsumoto took a sip from her cup. "I don't know. But I'll get it out of her."

"You didn't see her with anyone else?"

"Well, no. But tomorrow I'm going to follow her so I can find out."

"Would you be willing to let me know?"

"I suppose I could."

"Thank you, Rangiku-chan," he emptied his cup and set it at the table. "I have an early meeting tomorrow, so I'll take my leave now. Until we meet again, my dear."

Matsumoto watched him leave with a full bottle of sake in hand. Shunsui never had early meetings; Nanao knew better than to schedule anything for him in the mornings. This must have bothered him more than she thought it would.

The bond between a taichou and their fukutaicho was a strong one. It took many years of observation and training to create the necessary trust for a good team. They knew each other's strengths and weaknesses, and could take that into account, whether in battle or while running their division. Sometimes the bond was like that of family member – Yachiru and Zaraki, or the Kurotsuchis, in their own sick way. Like that of a teacher and student, like Unohana and Kotetsu. Or a bit romantic, like her Hitsugaya taichou (now that he was starting to mature and grow a bit more aware of her… assets) and apparently like Shunsui and Nanao. She wasn't sure what Kuchiki and Abarai had. That was a strange pair, especially since Kuchiki could be such an uptight prick. Most taichos were rather protective of their 2nds, so perhaps that was why Shunsui reacted the way did – or he really did love her.

**... ooo OOO ooo OOO ooo ...**

Returning to his division, Shunsui was now thinking along a similar line. Working together for the past forty or fifty years had led him to believe he knew his Nanao-chan. Except he couldn't tell when she was in love. He knew it had to be a man, Nanao had never shown the slightest interest in women. Then again, she never showed the slightest interest in men either, or for that matter, toward him. That was probably what hurt him the most, that she had never given him a chance. Or had he blown the chance without even knowing it? Nanao was so prim and proper, so uptight and responsible. She was everything he wasn't and he loved her for it.

**... ooo OOO ooo OOO ooo ...**

"_Kyoraku Taicho, I am Ise Nanao, your new fukutaicho." She said with a bow. _

_Shunsui appraised her with a practiced eye. Slightly on the thin side, rather short with an immaculate uniform, glasses perched on her nose and hair pulled up into a clip. Nothing on her person was out of place and her uniform covered just the right amount of skin. She could have been on a recruitment poster – except for the book. It was a rather large book that she held tightly to her chest and it was disproportionate to her body so when she bowed, he wondered how she stopped from falling over. So this was the girl Yama-jii sent to be his new fukutaicho. Nothing flashy, like Matsumoto but he wanted a fukutaicho who actually does paperwork. She was probably quite pretty when not wearing a uniform. Actually, he'd like to see her without a uniform – or anything else. Maybe she would loosen up as they got to know each other. _

"_Ise-san. You are the one Yama-jii sent? He said you were just the kind of person I need and maybe some of your habits will rub off on me."_

_She kept her head down and flushed slightly. "Kind of you to say so, sir."_

"_Would you like a tour of the 8th division."_

_Still not looking him in the face, she replied, "That's not necessary, sir. I have memorized the floor plan of this division."_

_This took him a bit off guard. She does her homework, he mused. Excellent! She'll probably do the paperwork well, too. _

"_I think I will call you Nanao-chan."_

_Her head rose and for the first time she looked him in the eye. The expression on her face was not only priceless, it was also quite pretty. This was going to be fun._

**... ooo OOO ooo OOO ooo ...**

The sky was full of stars, bright points of light spread over a black background. He liked to lie on the roof of the 8th division's main building and watch the stars. There were so many that they made him feel insignificant. No matter what mistakes a person made, none of it would affect the stars. Until now, he had always thought, throughout the years, Nanao would be watching the sky next to him. Some day she would start to see him as something more than just the taicho of the 8th Division. Some evenings, when she would be looking for him for his approval for paperwork, he could convince her to sit and look at the stars with him. Or if Kuukuku was doing one her fireworks displays he would drag her from her desk to watch from the roof; all in a comfortable, companionable silence.

He would no longer be such a central figure in her life. She hadn't even come to find him in the past few days to do any paperwork. She now left anything that required his approval on his desk. There were no lectures about how much work he needed to do himself or how he had missed another meeting. It was a little lonely and he missed seeing her.

He wasn't sure when his teasing had become real. When his feelings had become real. There had always been the hope that one day she would stop resisting, or would proclaim her own affection for him. He hoped her negative responses to his own proclamations had merely become an automatic reaction and not something she really and truly hated.

When he had spoken with Unohana the afternoon after he had taken her to the 4th division, she had said nothing was seriously wrong with Nanao and the girl had left in better spirits. He should have realized that she wasn't ill, that she was just distracted by another man's affection. Carrying her to the 4th division she was light in his arms, her head was pressed to his chest and it felt perfect there. He wanted to hold her like that forever, with the light scent of the sakura blossoms wafting in the air. Even her fireball was perfectly formed – just like everything else she did. And he knew she would never hit him with it. Probably. Something in his stomach twisted when he thought of her in another man's arms. Her dark eyes looking into his, her glasses off and her hair down, her body pressed to his, waiting for his kiss.

Whoever this man was, he would never be good enough for her and, when he found out who it was, he would make sure that the man took care of her the way she deserved to be. God help the man if he hurt her or if Shunsui ever saw tears in her eyes, for he would, without hesitation kill the man who caused them.

He knew he was jealous, and he hated that part of himself. If this man could make her happy, that was what mattered, right? And she had never really displayed any romantic affection towards him. Still, he couldn't help but be jealous.

He rarely drank to chase away his thoughts, but tonight he didn't want to feel anything until the news sank in. He wanted to be numb and for his brain to stop bringing up painful images and thoughts of her.

**... ooo OOO ooo OOO ooo ...**

This last dream was a rough one. Dawn was only a few hours away and knowing she wouldn't be able to return to sleep, she dressed and slipped silently out of her room. Walking would give her some time to think and help to pass the night. She was almost afraid of going back to sleep. Who knew what would happen then. After each dream, it became harder and harder to look him in the face. Apparently, her imagination was better than she had ever thought. It _was_ all in her imagination, right? Of course it was.

That didn't mean she couldn't enjoy the dream, did it?

It did if she couldn't keep her mind on other things, like – oh, say - her job. And then it really was a problem. She wondered if there were support groups for shinigami who dreamed of having sex with their taichos. Who all would be at that group? Would it be only for fukutaichos or could it be anyone from their division? Or perhaps someone who dreamed of a captain from another division. Were any of them already having sex with their captains? Maybe thinking about this sort of thing was worse than remembering the dream.

Should she stop by Matsumoto's favorite bar and make sure they both made it home tonight? No, surely they had left the bar hours ago and were both home in bed. Were they sharing that bed tonight?

At lunch, Matsumoto had kept steering their conversation back to Shunsui, so perhaps she had been trying to tell her something. She'd known Matsumoto since they were in the academy together, and while she wasn't necessarily easy or promiscuous, she did consider sex as a bit of a hobby. And with a body like hers, she had really enjoyed using it to flirt with, well, just about anybody. She'd even flirt with Yamamoto occasionally. She had an inner strength that always amazed Nanao. Matsumoto had lived in one of the tougher areas of Rukongai and she had once made some allusions to how she'd earned the money to live on before meeting Gin. Matsumoto was the most social and outgoing people Nanao knew. Just the type to appeal to Shunsui.

Nanao had known from the beginning that his advances were made only to fluster her, to get her to respond to his theatrics. He only wanted to rattle his tight-laced fukutaicho. If she ever responded favorably, he would back away or hide from her. And that was why she never responded, because she couldn't take it when he would react badly. She just wasn't' strong enough for that. She'd never been very good at dealing with emotions and definitely not dealing with rejection. She'd had several boyfriends when she was at the academy and before she became a fukutaicho. Once she was promoted she really didn't have time for that sort of thing and handling all the division's paperwork.

Occasionally, she actually enjoyed some of the teasing by her taichou. It kept life from getting too boring and it gave her an excuse to hit her very frustrating captain with anything in reach. While not exactly a bright spot in her day, it gave her a moment away from her regular routine. He could also be a complete pain in the ass. Some of his outrageous entrances could get overly complicated and even she has a breaking point.

Walking thru the dark, she once again felt very much alone. That was probably the worst part of these dreams, in them she felt whole and complete when she was with him. Once she was back in reality, alone again, she felt like a part of her was missing. Like someone had cut out a part of her soul and was now dangling it before her, tempting her, teasing her with something she knew she could never have. It was that kind of loss that hurt the most. It was the loss of something she'd never had to begin with.

Just thinking about him, the image that came to mind was from her dreams, his eyes shining with a burning desire that twisted her stomach and took her breath away. Now when she closed her eyes he was all she could see and the pain moved up into her chest.

She opened her eyes to find herself standing at his door. She could feel his shielded reiatsu from where she stood and the steadiness told her he was asleep. A distant light from behind cast her shadow on the paper of the door. The fingers of the shadow reached for hers as she extended her arm to rest her fingers on the door. With a deep breath she realized she couldn't open it and she allowed her fingertips to silently run down the door to fall at her side. The one action of opening that door would change her whole life, probably in a negative way. She couldn't risk it. Her heart sank and she bowed her head. There was too much at stake. With a deep breath, she turned and forced herself to leave. Returning to her dark room, she turned on the light, lay back down and pulled the covers tightly around her. She reached for one of the books beside her bed, selecting a slim volume from the stack. It was a nice boring book on the updated reporting procedure for death or injury of a shinigami when on patrol. And although she doubted it, she hoped it was a subject that would chase away her strange dreams until daylight.

**... ooo OOO ooo OOO ooo ...**

please review!


	4. Chapter 4

This chapter is a long one but I decided it was best to keep it all as one chapter. If you haven't noticed, each chapter covers one day. Being the quasi-perfectionist I am, I had to make sure the timing and events all worked out exactly right. for the timing to be correct, there will be two more chapters after this so i'll be torturing Nanao and Shunsui for a bit longer.

**... ooo OOO ooo OOO ooo ...**

Today Matsumoto was going to spy on her friend. Well, _spying_ was a harsh word; she preferred to think of it as _protecting_ her friend. After a brief appearance at her desk this morning, she came up with an excuse to leave the building before her taichou had even come in. It might have been overkill, seeing as her captain rarely expected her before 11am, but she didn't feel like trying to spy on Nanao and avoiding an angry Hitsugaya at the same time. Of course, everyone knew where an angry Hitsugaya was because the air temperature there was at least 20 degrees cooler than anywhere else in Seireitei. It would be an unneeded complication best taken care of with a little forethought. And if Nanao caught her spyi — protecting her, things could get a bit messy on that front, too. No, messy didn't cover it. Catastrophic? Not quite. Destructive would be more accurate.

Stifling a yawn Matsumoto watched from the roof as Nanao started her day. An hour spent in her office before inspecting the day's training exercises for another hour. She then returned to her office and reappeared with a pile of papers. Everything looked perfectly normal to Matsumoto and nothing deviated from Nanao's regular routine. Except…

From Matsumoto's viewing spot on the roof, she saw a lone shinigami rush down the corridor to help Nanao with her files. After a short verbal exchange, Nanao allowed the shinigami to carry her papers for her. They conversed quite a bit on their way to the first division to receive the day's assignments and Matsumoto even saw Nanao flash a smile every now and then. Could this be the guy? If she changed perspectives and squinted she could barely make out his face. Ah, she was pretty sure it was one of the new academy graduates assigned to the 5th division.

When Nanao reappeared from first division's offices, the young man helped her carry the new papers back to the 8th division. And again, Matsumoto saw Nanao smile occasionally. This must be the guy.

The sudden drop in temperature signaled to Matsumoto that her captain was near and was rather upset about something or other. Most likely it was something she'd done or forgotten to do. Definitely time to declare this a successful mission and abandon her post before discovered.

**... ooo OOO ooo OOO ooo ...**

He found her bent over her desk, surrounded by paperwork. The pages were all arranged in folders stacked in careful piles and completed with her small precise handwriting. Her glasses gave her a studious look and her hair was, as usual, held up with a single chopstick. The first time he'd seen it down he was struck by the length and beauty of the dark brown strands.

"_Nanao-chan, why must you wear your hair up all the time?" He asked. "It makes you even more beautiful when you leave it down!"  
_"_When I leave it down, it gets in the way when I'm working, which is what you should be doing right now." She said, pointedly. While she fussed to return her hair to its place, he slipped out of the office, leaving her with the paperwork.  
__But he never forgot how beautiful she was with her hair down and since then, he had delighted in stealing the stick or clips that held her hair up. It was just something else he did to annoy her to no end._

Sneaking up behind her, he leaned over her shoulder so see what she was writing. Her pen was held motionless, still poised over the page. Although she was looking at it, it was obvious that she wasn't thinking about those forms.

"More reports I see, my dear Nanao-chan." He whispered in her ear as he slipped the stick out of her hair. Nanao, who had actually been daydreaming about him, jumped. Her hair, that had been held up so perfectly, fell down across her shoulders. She stood quickly, knocking her chair over. He stepped back, surprised at her reaction. "Were you day-dreaming Nanao-chan?" He asked, playfully. "I trust I was a part of them. Perhaps you were thinking of pinning me to the desk and having your wicked way with me?"

Damn it, now she was going to have that image popping up in a dream tonight. Just what she didn't need right now.

"Nothing of the sort." She said scornfully. "I was just fantasizing that you were actually doing paperwork voluntarily." Well, the fantasizing part was right, but paperwork was now the last thing on her mind. Her face flushed lightly with embarrassment. She glanced up at him, but couldn't bring herself to meet his eyes, knowing when she looked into them, they wouldn't show the emotions she had been dreaming about.

"I – I'm late for a meeting." She said guiltily as she righted her chair. Once she'd gathered up her book and a handful of paperwork, she dashed out of the room, her long hair steaming behind her.

Disappointed, Shunsui watched her leave in her flustered state. She hadn't even stopped to retrieve her hairclip from him and she was never flustered. Her composure had always been a constant, whether fighting a Hollow or arguing with him. Was she really thinking about her new boyfriend that much? With a sigh, he sat at his own desk but instead of looking at the pile of paperwork before him, he stared at her empty desk at the other end of the office. I will have to get used to it soon, he rationalized. She won't want to spend all of her time here if someone is waiting for her elsewhere.

**... ooo OOO ooo OOO ooo ...**

Nanao raced down the corridor, not quite running but definitely not walking. She made it to her room and closed the door behind her. Sinking to the floor, the papers fell from her arms and slid across the floor. Her book hit the floor with a solid thump.

What was going on with her? She wanted to scream and cry at the same time. Not only had she been thinking of him, she had been contemplating how his lips would feel when pressed to hers. What it would it feel like to have his fingers stroking her skin ever so carefully, starting with her cheeks, running down her neck, over the sides of her breasts, her stomach and her hips. To be held, pressed as close as possible to his body, resting her head on his chest, feeling it expand and contract with every breath.

Pressing her back against the wall and pulling her knees to her chest, she squeezed her eyes tight and tried to think what she would say to him the next time she saw him. He could easily find out she really didn't have a meeting and demand an explanation, and she would have to come up with an excuse. How could her thoughts have strayed from work? The dreams were bad enough, but now her imagination was running wild during working hours. But the dreams were so real, so emotional and so physical; she felt exhausted and drained when she awoke from a night's sleep.

She could still remember the feeling of his hands as they ran across her bare skin. His lips gliding along her collarbone, running up her neck and behind her ear where he stopped to nibble on her earlobe. It made her chest ache in longing.

No! With a kick, her book went skidding across the floor to crush several papers against the wall. She had to stop herself from thinking about him! He's her taicho and they need to work together! It's not right! Besides, he didn't feel the same way about her because he had Matsumoto. If she was in a competition with Rangiku for his love, it would be over before it even started and she was jealous of that.

She closed her eyes and curled up tighter, furious with herself for allowing her imagination to run wild like this. No matter what she did, she couldn't get him out of her mind. The more she tried to think of other things, the more her mind ended up back with him.

She was so tired; maybe she was tired enough she wouldn't dream this time. If she was starting to daydream about him then even staying awake would no longer provide any sanctuary. She had to find a way to keep those dreams out of an office setting. If all she could think about when she went into the office was being with him, she would never get any work done.

Perhaps bringing it out in the open would help. Yes, she would tell him about her silly dreams and then they would get better. He would tell her that he had no such feelings for her and she could get on with her life, such as it was. The dreams couldn't get worse, could they? Tonight, she'd go to his favorite bar, perhaps have a few drinks with him and tell him of her problem.

In the meantime, she would try to complete some of the paperwork she had brought with her to her room.

**... ooo OOO ooo OOO ooo ...**

"I don't know his name because he's just one of the new graduates that joined the 5th division. I think I saw him come into the bar earlier." Scanning the crowd, Matsumoto spotted him and pointed him out to Shunsui. "That's the one."

"I think I'm going to need to have a talk with him."

"Are you sure that's wise?"

"I won't harm the boy I just want to warn him, because if he hurts my Nanao-chan, I will skin him alive, soak him in wasabi and leave him for hollow-bait."

Matsumoto shivered. Although Shunsui was not usually a menacing figure, he was a large man and she had no doubt that not only did he meant what he had said, he would do it too. That might be one of the mildest things he would do to someone who ever hurt Nanao. She watched him make his way over and pull the boy aside. As they conversed, the younger man's face became more and more serious the longer Shunsui talked. By the time they parted, the boy was as white as a sheet of paper.

Shunsui made his way back to his table; his usual flamboyant and lighthearted attitude now gone, replaced by that of a weary, serious and rather tired looking man. Matsumoto passed him another bottle of sake.

"Whatever you said sure seemed to scare that kid."

"It was meant to. I didn't feel like beating around the bush tonight."

"You're taking this rather seriously."

"I suppose I am, but she's my Nanao-chan and I won't let anything happen to her." Sitting rather silent and dejected, the warmth of Matsumoto's hand on his shoulder pulled his gaze from the bottle in front of him.

"Someone needs a hug!" She said in the sugarcoated voice one would use to speak to a baby or small child. Before he knew what was happening, she had wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled his face to her chest. "There, is that better?" She asked as she stroked his hair. A few wolf calls and requests for the same treatment were heard thru the bar.

Shunsui couldn't help but laugh. "Ah, Matsumoto," he mumbled from between her breasts. "You always know how to cheer up a broken-hearted man." Raising his head he decided this would probably be the best time to leave. "Thank you, Ran-chan. I bid you and the girls a goodnight." With slightly higher spirits, a tired smile and a full bottle of sake, he left the bar. They may not be the breasts he had been thinking about, but they were impressive in their own rights. There were many shinigami in the bar that had nightly dreams of such delights.

Once again, she watched the older Shunsui walk away from the table. All of this had hit him harder than she'd thought it would. He really does love her. With a sigh from one well acquainted with unrequited love, she looked around for someone else to drink with. She waved to Hisagi, who grabbed Kira and dragged him over to her table.

With a glance backwards, Shunsui saw Matsumoto waving the boys over. He smiled with the thought that the way she made friends, she would never be alone. Stepping out of the well lit bar into the dark evening, Shunsui bumped into someone.

Nanao. How could he have missed her reiatsu? Perfectly controlled, it felt like a part of him, like a missing piece of a puzzle. They'd made a good team but that was all, he reminded himself. They only worked together.

"My dearest Nanao-chan!' he greeted her warmly. His heart crumbled a little, realizing she must be here to meet that boy. "I'll see you tomorrow, Nanao-chan. Have a good evening." He used shunpo, to quickly leave the area, not wanting to see her happy expression when meeting another man.

**... ooo OOO ooo OOO ooo ...**

It had taken her all afternoon to work up the nerve to speak with him. She had only glanced thru the doorway when something caught her eye. Her taichou had his face pressed between Matsumoto's breasts! Where everyone in the bar could see! Stunned, she could only stand and watch. Even after he rose, she couldn't believe her eyes. She felt like someone had reached into her chest and was ruthlessly squeezing her heart. She had come here to tell him of her dreams, more for her stress level than for his benefit, but to see him and Matsumoto together like this in public could only mean one thing: they really were a couple.

It wasn't until he bumped into her as he was leaving the bar that she realized she had been blocking the door. The surprised look on his face and his rapid escape told her that talking to him tonight was a bad idea. Without even entering the bar, she turned and walked back to her room. Perhaps it was for the best, after all, she didn't want to come across as some lovesick woman desperate for any tiny amount of affection thrown to her in pity.

She'd told herself years ago, she was not the romantic type. Matsumoto would tell her all about her feelings for Gin, but Nanao never had someone like that in her life. Someone that she cared for, someone she felt like she couldn't live without and wanted to spend forever with. She had told herself she never would, either. She was much too practical and realistic for such silly things. It was a weakness and she didn't allow herself such weaknesses. They were frivolous, unnecessary and something that would only get in the way of her goal of becoming a shinigami.

Damn it, she really did love him. Although it still felt strange, she could now admit this to herself. Except love doesn't conquer all. When morning comes and the light shines on the dream, it disappears; the spell is broken and reality tears that dream apart. All one can do is pick up the shreds of those dreams, hide them away and continue with life.

She wasn't getting enough sleep. How could she when she awoke in a panic from her dreams? It was getting to the point that she was afraid to sleep, afraid that the next dream would go too far. Nanao, a self-disciplined control-freak now found herself at the mercy of her own fantasies. She took the sleeping pill and laid in the dark, praying she wouldn't dream tonight. She couldn't take much more of this. With a sigh, she wondered why it hurt so much to lose something that was only real in her dreams.

**... ooo OOO ooo OOO ooo ...**

While not exactly drunk, Shunsui wasn't exactly sober either. Even after Matsumoto's version of condolences, he was feeling too depressed to return to the isolation of his room and he no longer enjoyed the levity in the bar. He had run into Nanao but she was obviously at the bar to meet with her new boyfriend. He'd never been able to get her to the bar for a drink with him.

Not wanting to be alone, he decided a visit with his friend Ukitake Jyuushiro was in order. If anyone could cheer him up and help him through this, it would be him. As he carefully walked towards his friend's rooms, he searched for the man's reiatsu. As a captain, Jyuushiro kept his true reiatsu masked at all times, but without a concentrated effort enough leaked for Shunsui to feel it. The closer he got to the 13th division, the stronger Jyuushiro's reiatsu got. He must not be feeling as well today, Shunsui thought when he felt the fluctuations in Jyuushiro's reiatsu. One day he knew his friend would succumb to his illness, but he had been thinking that same thing when they were in school together, unsure he would even make it to graduation. A few thousand years later, he was still able to fight when necessary and Shunsui knew they had many years of friendship ahead. And while Jyuushiro could fight at full strength for short periods of time, he had preferred to develop his mind allowing him to strategize and out think an opponent rather than rely on a purely physical fight. Perhaps Jyuushiro's insight could be of some help tonight.

**... ooo OOO ooo OOO ooo ...**

"You, my friend, are an idiot. How could you not foresee this?" Jyuushiro asked.

This was not the sort of insight he was hoping for. They were sitting on the engawa, enjoying the night air. Sitting straight-backed, Jyuushiro, covered with a blanket, was sipping his hot medicinal tea. Shunsui was lying on his side, head propped up on his hand and the bottle of sake before him. "It all started as a joke Shiro-chan."

"Yes, most things do with you, don't they?" Jyuushiro poured himself more tea.

"That first day I met her I just did it to see if I could crack that armor of hers."

"Did it work?" Jyuushiro raised an eyebrow.

"No."

"So, of course you had to continue harassing her and she continued to turn you down."

"Of course she did, she's my Nanao-chan! "

"And because she's the only woman who's been able to work with you and not fall into your bed, you find yourself in love with her. Now that she's got a boyfriend, it makes her all the more alluring." With a sigh and another sip of tea, he watched Shunsui. He had never seen his friend this miserable before; he hadn't seen his friend's lazy smile since their greeting. Even when Shunsui failed a test in school or found himself in a messy relationship, it had never rattled him. He had been the one to create this problem and now he had to deal with it. He'd never truly fallen in love with any of those girls he'd chased and caught. It's about time the tables were turned and Ukitake decided he might as well rub it in while he could.

"That's enough wallowing in self-pity, my friend. You are going to go home, go to sleep and tomorrow you will find another girl."

"I can't do that!"

"Why not?" From the corner of his eye, he glanced at Shunsui.

"Its my Nanao-chan!" He said miserably.

"How about Matsumoto?"

"She's fun, but just a friend. She's like you and sees right thru my dramatics. Besides, she's got her own romance going on."

"Oh, with whom?" Ukitake's interest was piqued. After all, once you've known people a few hundred years, you couldn't help but to be interested in their lives. Had she finally found someone else or was she still waiting for Gin's affection.

"Hey, I came here to talk about my problems, not hers!"

"Well, I already told you the best solution I have."

"You're just teasing me, now aren't you?"

"Absolutely."

"What's your real solution?" Shunsui reached for the sake bottle, hoping there was enough for one more cup. Ukitake's hand stopped his arm. Shunsui looked into his friend's now serious face. All amusement between the two had disappeared.

"Find some way to tell her."

"I've been telling her for years!"

"Then you need to try something different."

**... ooo OOO ooo OOO ooo ...**

Their faces were close enough she could feel his warm breath on her lips and his hand on her cheek. After a moment of hesitation, she realized he was waiting for her to make the first move. Before she could change her mind, she quickly pressed her lips to his. Her insides melted and she deepened the kiss, opening her mouth slightly. His tongue flicked hesitantly at her lips, and realizing she was willing, slipped into her mouth, gently caressing her tongue with his. The way his tongue moved caused shivers to run down her back. She couldn't get enough and she wanted more. She sucked gently on his upper lip as his hands flowed down over the smooth skin of her neck, over her shoulders, stroking her skin through her clothes. A small groan escaped from her throat when his hands stopped and lingered on her breasts. He easily found her erect nipples thru the cloth and gently traced the circle of her areola, not touching the actual tips, merely teasing her. Shivers of pleasure swept thru her with every movement of his hands. Her back arched, trying to push more of her body towards his, giving consent for him to continue exploring her curves.

One of her arms was wrapped around his shoulders while the other hand held the back of his neck. Her fingers played with the band holding his hair back, slowly pulling it out and tossing it aside before spreading his hair across his shoulders. The ends of the silky strands tickled the arm she had wrapped around his back.

His mouth now found the place where her neck and shoulder met and nipped at the fragile skin, making her gasp softly with the new sensation. Her hands flew to his face, pushing his head back so she could see his face. Her hands entered his robe at the neck and slowly worked their way down his bare chest. Her eyes stayed fixed on his face, watching his eyes, studying how they reacted to every movement or sound she made. His emotions clearly flashed thru the expressive brown eyes that she'd watched for so many years and a small smile played across his lips, showing how much he was enjoying the experience.

His lips again sought hers, with a passion that quickly seared through her, leaving her with a satisfied feeling she'd been craving for innumerable years. She relaxed into his embrace, feeling invulnerable in his arms. One of his hands was now stroking her hair, in a soothing manner. Resting with her head on his chest, she wrapped her hands in the cloth of his kimono and breathed in his scent.

**... ooo OOO ooo OOO ooo ...**

the next chapter will be ready in a couple of days. please review!


	5. Chapter 5

Warning: lemon in this chapter. if you are under 18, this is a warning to stop reading. i don't want to get hit with a corruption of a minor charge.

i debated with myself about whether to post the lemon part or not. Then i decided – what the hell. if you don't like lemons, don't read the last section. i'm not sure it matters that much to the plot, i mean i could have just implied a sex scene, but i like writing lemons and decided i wanted one in my story – and i can do that cause i'm the author.

**... ooo OOO ooo OOO ooo ...**

Nanao found herself sitting by the river again, staring at the branches swaying above her reclining body. She had put up a protective barrier this time and the petals that fell on the dome slid down its surface into small piles at the base.

Sneaking out of her room at first light, she left a note on her captain's desk explaining she would be out of the office for the day, taking no chance she would run into him. She then came to her favorite flower-viewing place trying to think of anything but her captain.

Last night she had taken the pill Unohana had given her, but it had no effect on the dreams and the only difference was that she didn't wake up in a panic this morning.

This whole thing was starting to boarder on obsession. Boarder? No, it was now a full-blown obsession. She'd never been so fixated on anything like she was with these dreams. Not even when she'd discovered demon arts as a small child in Rukongai.

That had been a hard time of her life but she knew her early life had been fairly easy compared to some of the other shinigami she knew. She'd had a family group she'd lived with for many years, living fairly comfortably in one of the better districts of Rukongai.

One day she had discovered an old man using some basic demon arts in an alley by her house. It fascinated her so much she had spied on him for days, listening carefully to the words he said and memorizing the things he did. She was absolutely amazed that one person could contain and control such power.

One afternoon by the river, she had tried using one of the spells to light a small pile of twigs on fire, but it literally backfired when she blew up a tree. The tree looked like it had been hit with lightening; what remained of the stump burned for hours while charred splinters of wood covered a 40-foot area. Most of the leaves and twigs were badly singed or in small piles of ashes. It had frightened her enough to approach the old man and beg for his help to regulate the power she now felt constantly coursing through her body. There was a fear in his eyes when he realized she'd seen him use his skills and he scolded her for speaking of such things where someone could have overheard them. It was only after she took him to see the burnt tree that he agreed to tutor her in controlling her spiritual power. His conditions were that they spoke to no one about their secret and that she not become a shinigami. Like most Rukongai residents, he held a grudge against the shinigami.

The old man soon joined her family group and became like a grandfather to her. They lived for a number of years without the rest of her family knowing their secret. She was very careful, knowing that using the demon arts not only had severe social repercussions amongst Rukongai residents, but a powerful reiatsu also unintentionally drew hollows. It wasn't until a group of those hollows killed her grandfather and many of her other family members did she realize she needed to do something more than just exist until it was time for her to return to the physical world. She had managed to kill most of hollows that attacked her family but she wanted to do more; she didn't want this to happen to other children. She also knew if she stayed with what was left of her family she would only cause more problems. Numerous hollows would be drawn to her reiatsu, killing whomsoever got in the way. So the next day, to prevent something like this from happening, she took her grandfather's book and enrolled at the shinigami academy.

Her demon arts were then and always would be her strength. She mastered kido quickly, to the extent that she rarely needed to recite the incantations for the most common of spells. Many shinigami had found that the effect of the spell diminished if the incantations were not spoken, but for some reason, Nanao never experienced this problem.

Like all zanpakuto, being a physical representation of a shinigami's spiritual power, Nanao's weapon reflected her strength with kido. The small wakizashi blade, while sharp and quite useful in close combat situations, had a more important characteristic. With shikai, the blade itself didn't physically transform like that of the average shinigami, more importantly, it increased the efficiency of the spiritual power behind her spells.

When she started at the academy, her biggest struggle had been learning to control her reiatsu and her temper at the same time. When she got angry, her anger flared white-hot for a brief moment, leaving her reiatsu fluctuating wildly. The anger would pass after a few seconds, but by then her reiatsu was unstable meaning she was unable to accurately use kido. With the help of her new friend and roommate Matsumoto Rangiku, she had learned to control her reiatsu and her temper enough to use the combination to her advantage. By increasing her spiritual energy the moment her temper flared, she was able to create an extremely powerful burst that, when used correctly, could work as a directed or precise explosion. This technique combined several spells and used the control of her reiatsu, creating a skill unique to her alone.

With hours of work, Matsumoto had helped her master both her temper and her reiatsu control. They had been quite a pair, complete opposites, yet the best of friends. Once graduating from the academy, they had both achieved the position of fukutaicho quite quickly and went their separate ways, still friends but not as close as they had once been.

And now they loved the same man. But no sane man would choose her over Matsumoto, and Nanao knew it.

She had to find a way to kill this desire, kill the hope that he could feel the same way. But that little flame of hope burning inside her refused to go out, no matter how hard she tried to extinguish it. Yes, hope truly was the cruelest emotion. She had to squash this dream, this hope, before it got beyond her control – if it hadn't already.

For one thing, physical relationships between taichos and fukutaichos were greatly discouraged. She could even list off the reasons why relations with superiors were a bad idea: it affected the way others in the unit were treated, emotions could taint decisions necessary in battle, it changed the whole working atmosphere of a division and if the relationship went bad, it could split a the loyalty of said division. It also put the subordinate in a difficult position with little recourse if things didn't work out between the couple. And that was only the beginning.

His tongue flicked hesitantly at her lips, and realizing she was willing, slipped into her mouth, gently caressing her tongue with his. The way his tongue moved caused shivers to run down her back. She couldn't get enough and she wanted more.

Damn it! The more she told her mind to avoid those thoughts, the more she thought about him. She had to ignore all the emotions, will herself to forget because she could never let them out. If he was with her friend, the last thing she wanted to do was add her jealousy to that relationship.

She would ignore these thoughts and she would do it because it was required of her. She didn't really love him and he wouldn't return her feelings if she did. Maybe if she repeated it enough, she could eventually believe it.

She closed her eyes and saw his face from last night's dream. His eyes, always his most expressive feature, spoke to her. His face had a look that was something she desired more than anything else but knew she would never see, at least not directed at her - it was a sincere look of love and not the overly dramatic act he liked to tease her with.

Rationally, she knew he cared for her as a friend and his fukutaicho, but not as a lover. Matsumoto could give him what he wanted, much better than she ever could. Where Matsumoto was an outgoing person with a bubbly personality, she was a cold and remote person, removed from life, viewing everything from a distance and rarely participating. A tear slipped down her cheek. She wanted to be with him so badly it hurt. At that moment, she would give anything just to hear his voice speak her name.

No. No, that was it. She wiped the tear from her face and struggled to hide her feelings, fighting to put them back into the box opened by her recent dreams. And the self-pity had to stop; she was her own person and was fine without someone else. It was better this way. She wouldn't say or do anything to reveal her true feelings and tomorrow, she would return to the office. Things would be like they have always been.

**... ooo OOO ooo OOO ooo ...**

She lay next to him in the bed, his chest pressed against her back and his hand resting at her waist. She had her arm draped over his, holding his in place with her own. His fingers were playing with the sash at her waist, carefully attempting to untie the knot without trying to seem overeager. By the feel of the bulge pressing into her the small of her back, his movements were caused by his own desire to touch more than just the cloth covering her body.

Her dark hair was fanned out over the bedding where he rested his cheek on the silky, hair-covered pillow. Her hand released the grip she had on his arm and helped him untie her sash. His hand slipped under her kimono, stroking the skin of her stomach lightly. She let out a soft moan as his fingers pushed aside more cloth, exposing her bare skin to the cool air.

His fingers, encountering a flaw in the delicate skin of her stomach, hesitated as he traced the long, rough scar running across her body, from the bottom of her ribcage to her opposite hip. He buried his face in her neck, brushing his lips where it met her shoulder. His voice was deep and with his chest pressed to her back, she could feel the vibrations as he spoke.

"Was this from that fight 40 years ago? When I let myself become distracted and wasn't there to protect you?"

"No, it was from 40 years ago when I was reckless and thought I could defeat a Menos Grande on my own." She said quietly.

"Always so stubborn." He said softly into her neck. His fingers left the site of the scar and moved up to her shoulder to brush her long hair out of the way.

He started at her shoulder, pulling aside more cloth and allowing his calloused hands to trace gently over her bare skin, down one arm to her hand, gently gliding over her fingers. He brushed over her hip, down to the strong muscles of her thigh and back up over her stomach to grasp her hand gently. Raising her arm, he continued running his fingers up the underside, pausing at her breast.

Moving backwards a little to make enough room, he pulled on her shoulder until she rolled onto her back. Lifting his upper body, he leaned over her and lowered his head, gently taking a nipple into his mouth. She inhaled sharply and winced when his teeth gently scraped the tip. His unshaven face was rough against her bare breast. Her fingers ran thru his hair, holding his head close to her breast, not wanting the delicious sensation to end. He gently ran his tongue around the areola and with a small nip, he left the sensitive peak and raised his head to look up at her face.

"Oh, don't stop, please..." She whispered softly and opened her eyes to watch his every movement. He pulled his body back, allowing himself a good look at her partially exposed form. To see her lying under him in his bed, naked and waiting for his next action, waiting for whatever sensation he would next arouse in her body was the most erotic thing he'd ever seen. One hand gently pulled her kimono off of her hip, exposing all of her skin for him to see. His eyes played over the body he'd spent so much time fantasizing about, memorizing every swell and curve. His hand rested on her breast, fingers gently rubbing and squeezing a pale peak. She whimpered and her hand flew to his, begging him not to stop. He turned his gaze back to her face. The desire shone bright in her eyes, her pale skin contrasted with her dark hair that was spread out over the pillow, her teeth biting her lip and her perfectly formed breasts rising and falling with each breath.

Staring into his face, she could see the loving adoration and the raw desire, leaving her with a lovely heat that pooled in her belly. The warmth flowed through her veins, causing her skin to tingle in the most delicious way. He really did love her. Her heart felt like it was going to pound out of her chest. He drew out every sensation, so as to not rush the emotions she felt welling inside her; not wanting to pressure her into doing something she wasn't ready for.

He'd seen her body and she now wanted to see every part of his. She reached under his kimono and ran her fingers over his chest, pushing the soft fabric off his shoulders. Understanding her intentions, he relished the feeling of her delicate hands running across his chest and over his shoulders. Without a hint of embarrassment, he removed his kimono, displaying his body for her to see. Admittedly, there was no reason for any embarrassment. Her breath caught in her throat as her eyes flowed over his broad chest and the strong body he offered to her. Her hand rose to stroke along his cheek, the stubble tickling her fingers. With a hand at the base of his neck, she pulled him back down to press her lips to his, gently slipping her tongue past his lips.

One of his hands moved down her naked body, hardly touching her bare flesh yet still sending warm shivers across her skin. He ran his hand along the scar on her stomach, then continuing down to stop between her legs. She gasped with the intrusion of his fingers and spread her legs in the hope for more. He gently stroked the silky skin, watching her writhe and moan with every movement of his fingers. She rolled her head back and forth, eyes closed and spine arched, trying to push more of herself into his hands. She whimpered when one of his fingers penetrated her sweet spot. She cried out his name, begging for more; she wanted more than a finger, she wanted to feel all of him inside her.

With a quick twist, he laid back, pressing his shoulders to the bed while pulling her onto his chest. The absence of his hand was now filled by the swell of his flesh pressing insistently between her legs. The all-consuming need to feel his bare skin pressed against hers was finally fulfilled.

She brought her lips down on his, pressing with a bruising force. She felt an urgency, a desire to fill the empty space inside her with his body. Her tongue swept thru his mouth, swirling around with his own. His hands slid down her body, coming to rest on her hips. The deep kiss turned into a series of small kisses, running along her jaw line to her ear. With a final kiss, she leaned back, now straddling his stomach. Their eyes locked, and at the small nod of her head, he lifted her hips, and with her guidance, eased their bodies together. She threw her head back with a cry of pleasure. The feeling was exquisite, incomparable to any other sensation. She gently started rocking her hips against his, supported by his hands at her waist. He carefully thrust with his body, gradually finding a rhythm comfortable to them both. With her head still tipped back, her unbound hair brushed across her back grazing his hands with every move of her body. She wrapped her fingers tighter around his hands, rocking faster, every action setting off wave after wave of euphoric pleasure. Her face was flushed, her body glistened with sweat and her breasts bounced lightly in rhythm to her movements. He couldn't take his eyes off of the blushing, sweaty woman astride his body. She was breathtaking like this.

She finally felt full, no longer alone. She was breathing hard now, gasping with every roll of her hips. Her muscles clenched tightly around him, stroking him, squeezing him tightly within her.

The pooling heat in her belly started to surge, each jolt of her body causing waves to splash inside her torso, small at first but soon growing to incredibly powerful waves running throughout her entire body. His deep groans were coming closer and closer together, soon turning into one loud cry when the muscles of his lower body spasmed.

She could feel him coming, filling her with warm liquid. One of his hands left her waist and reached between her legs. With a single touch, the waves of pleasure finally overwhelmed her senses, her muscles rapidly tensing and releasing around him, milking him of everything he had. With a blissful cry, she slumped forward, resting her cheek on his now sweaty chest. His arms wrapped around her, holding her as close as possible.

"Don't let go," she whispered. "Just please don't let go."

**... ooo OOO ooo OOO ooo ...**

i know the first part kinda drags, but i hope the last section makes up for it. i had a tough time with writing it – it's supposed to be tender and passionate, let me know if i got it or not. i'm thinking i'll have the next and final chapter up by the end of the weekend.


	6. Chapter 6

i want to thank everyone who reviewed! i really appreciate all the nice things said! thank you!

**... ooo OOO ooo OOO ooo ...**

Nanao awoke slowly. She'd had another dream last night. When was this going to stop? The dreams were so real they made her body ache. She longed to feel his hands on her body, to hold him close and feel his body pressed to hers. She could even smell h-

_Wait! That scent was real!_ She sat up and looked around the room. Sunlight streaming in the window lit the strange room. This wasn't a dream and this wasn't her room! Her eyes came to rest on the naked figure lying next to her in the bed.

"Oh god, what have I done?" she whispered. Her heart felt like it was being crushed by an invisible hand. She looked down at her own nude body, only partially covered by the sheet lying crumpled in her lap. She quickly lifted the sheet to cover her bare chest. When she pulled the sheet a little more, trying to cover more of herself, the portion of the sheet covering him pulled toward her, displaying more of his body.

His eyes opened and with a slightly confused look on his face, Shunsui reached for her arm and pulled her back to lie next to him. Her body stiffened; just touching his bare skin sent an electric tingle thru her body. The sheets even smelled of him. She was in his room, in his bed, not wearing any clothes and she was thinking about how good the sheets smelled. She suddenly felt horribly embarrassed. He rolled onto his side and propped his head up on one hand, studying her face. He draped his arm over her stomach, gently tracing the scar on her stomach through the sheet.

"Is something wrong Nanao-chan?" His asked quietly, concerned at the strange look on her face.

She could only reply with a small squeak. He was lying so close! His arm at her waist felt so comfortable, so right. But it was so wrong!

"So you decided to stay the night this time." Just the touch of his hand softly stroking her stomach sent another shiver thru her body.

"This time?" She whispered softly.

"Of course, the night before you didn't stay."

"I… I…" She stuttered. Was she going crazy? She didn't remember any of this! Sure, she'd had dreams about him, being with him…

His deep voice continued, unaware that her heart had dropped into her stomach. "The night before last, I woke up to find you sleeping curled up behind me and holding me tightly around the waist. The next thing I knew, you were kissing me. Ah, what soft lips my Nanao-chan has! When I awoke in the morning, you were gone. But last night – ah, last night was wonderful!" His hand slid up her body, coming to rest on her cheek, turning her face towards his. "And the first thing I got to see today was my Nanao-chan's face."

Her mind was reeling, trying to understand what had happened. Before she could say anything, his soft lips cut off her reply. Her eyes fluttered closed, trying to stop herself from enjoying this. His tongue slipped between her lips to lightly caress the inside of her mouth and she couldn't help but moan softly.

When she pulled away, the look on her face confused him. Had she not enjoyed the kiss?

"Oh god." She said softly, her hand flying to her mouth. She traced her lips, trying to forget how pleasurable that kiss was. "It was real. I thought I'd just been having strange dreams." Her mind finally caught up.

"You don't remember?" His eyes finally registered the dazed look on her face.

Still trying to understand the situation, Nanao leapt out of his bed and raced from the room, barely taking the time to retrieve and don her kimono.

Shocked, Shunsui could only stay and watch her leave.

**... ooo OOO ooo OOO ooo ...**

_What should I do, oh god, what should I do?_ Only wearing a light yukata, Nanao ran to Matsumoto's room. Without bothering to knock, she slid the door open and rushed in. Not surprisingly, Matsumoto was still asleep.

"Please forgive me, Ran-chan – I've done something horrible." Nanao fell to her knees on Rangiku's blankets and shook the huddled form. If everything she'd dreamed of had become true, how could something that felt so very good be so wrong at the same time? And it had felt oh-so-good.

"Quit it, I'm tryin' to sleep! Oh shit, that hurt." The form groaned. Rangiku sat up with hands shielding her eyes from the light.

"Ran-chan, I screwed up. Oh, God, what have I done? Please forgive me!"

"Shh, a little quieter, please." Matsumoto thought her head was going to explode. And it was bright. Way too bright. She reached for the water glass she kept by her bed. With her eyes still closed, her hand groped around for it nearly knocking the cup over. She drank half of the water before opening her eyes and realizing Nanao was on her bed crying. _Wait, Nanao was crying?_ The girl was draped across the bed, with her head bent forward and her loose hair obscuring her face. Her body was shaking with each sob. All Matsumoto could hear was Nanao saying she was sorry.

"Nanao, what's wrong!" Matsumoto couldn't help but be frightened – if something had happened that caused Nanao to cry, it must be extremely serious.

Nanao had stopped trying to speak but continued to sob.

"Nanao, tell me what happened." She pulled Nanao into a hug, resting the girl's head on her chest and stroking her hair. "Come on, take deep breaths, calm down and tell me what's going on."

Nanao was now crying too hard to speak complete sentences. "I'm sorry… I'm really, really sorry… I… I woke up… and Shunsui… look at him… never face him… oh, god please forgive me!" Nanao choked out between sobs.

"Ok, so don't try to talk yet, just take deeper breaths and relax, I'm sure we can fix anything that's gone wrong. And of course I'll forgive you!" _But what was she trying to apologize for? _Rangiku continued to stroke Nanao's hair, rocking her back and forth gently. _Damn, her hair had gotten long._ She always wore it up and Rangiku realized that it had been a number of years since she'd seen her with her hair down. And even stranger, Nanao was only wearing a light sleeping yukata. _Something bad really must have happened for her to be dressed like this. _

Nanao's sobs slowed and she started to tell Rangiku what had happened. "I'm so sorry. I woke up in Shunsui's bed."

Matsumoto inhaled sharply. _Whoa, that would do it. But why the hell was she apologizing to her?_

"We'd…" Nanao stopped and sighed. "I've been having strange dreams, dreams about him. And they got pretty… intense."

_Holy crap, so it wasn't about that guy in the 5th? It was Shunsui the whole time. She'd really screwed that one up._

Nanao continued, "At first they were just about him and memories of him. And then my imagination started bringing in new things. Soon we were kissing and… and then it went further. Then last night I dreamed about sex. But this time, when I woke up, I was in his bed! And we were both naked. What can I do, Ran-chan? I'm so sorry." Nanao looked up at her.

Rangiku sat for a moment, digesting what Nanao had told her. _Why had Nanao had come running to her? Did Nanao think she'd ever done something like this? Well, she kinda had, but Nanao didn't know that. And what was she apologizing for? _

"So why are you crying? Don't you love him?"

Neither spoke. Eventually Nanao nodded her head. "I'm sorry," she whispered.

"Then what's the problem? And what are you apologizing for?"

"But you and he…"

"We… what?"

"You're together, right?"

"What!" Matsumoto could only gasp in surprise. Then a smile crossed her face.

"But, I saw you two…"

"Oh, honey, Shunsui's only a drinking buddy."

"Oh." Nanao paused. Her brain was stumbling, trying to understand what this meant. She hadn't come between them, but there were still problems. "Still, he doesn't love me, and we work together. Now how can I work with him now?"

Matsumoto sighed again. "Nanao, he's been telling you for years that he loves you."

"But he's not serious. It's just to irritate me."

"You're wrong. Listen, earlier this week, Shunsui was worried about you because you had been acting so strangely. One night he asked me to find out why you were avoiding him and not chasing him around with paperwork. I didn't want to just come out and ask because I didn't want to intrude on your love life. So I… I kind of followed you."

"What! You followed me?" Nanao pulled her head up and looked at Rangiku in surprise.

"Well, just for a little while. Actually it was that morning when you were flirting with that guy from the 5th."

"Flirting? But he just asked if he could help me with that pile of papers I was taking to the 1st."

"Sure looked like flirting to me. Between that, going to look at the sakura alone, avoiding Shunsui, spacing off during meetings and generally looking and acting like you aren't all there, I figured you must be in love. So I told Shunsui you were in love with that guy from the 5th."

"You told him what?"

"Calm down and let me finish; that's not the important part. When I told Shunsui he immediately left the bar with a bottle of sake. But the look on his face was so painful, like… well, it was like someone had stolen the most precious thing he owned and he hasn't been the same since. The next night he had a conversation with the guy from the 5th and then he left with another bottle of sake. He hasn't been to the bar since then. Honey, he loves you enough to let you be with whomever you want to be with. He was willing step back and let you be with the guy if it made you happy." She hesitated, "Or he was pouting. But either way, he really does love you."

Nanao sat in silence for a few moments, still curled up in Matsumoto's arms. "And now, by running away I've hurt him." She whispered.

"Probably. I think you need to go talk with him."

**... ooo OOO ooo OOO ooo ...**

Nanao returned to her room, letting Matsumoto go back to sleep. Dressed in a yukata with her hair loose, she set off to find Shunsui. Not even bothering to check the office, she checked his room, his favorite bar and the roof of their division. She checked with Ukitake and finally found him at the same place he had found her the previous week; her favorite sakura viewing place.

He was awake, reclined to watch the clouds float across the sky, his hat resting on his chest and several empty bottles of sake at his side. She carefully made her way towards him and lay down by his side, close but not touching. Neither said anything as they watched the clouds.

"You really should have a barrier up sir." She broke the silence.

He said nothing.

"I'm sorry I left this morning." She paused.

Again there was no response. She closed her eyes turned her head away, knowing she couldn't explain if she knew he was watching her.

"I've been having these dreams for awhile now…" She started again. "And I've been so distracted because they're all I've been able to think about. They… they were about you." She sighed. "About you and me. At first they were about the daily routine things. And then we were kissing. And then… they went further. So when this morning I woke up in your bed, I was scared. You said that I'd come to your room, but I don't remember it. I just thought they were very realistic dreams, only pure fantasy and that there was no way they could come true." She stopped again. This had to be the hardest thing she'd ever done, but she needed to say this.

"When I went to the bar a few nights ago, I saw you with your head buried in Matsumoto's chest and I… I was so jealous." She hesitated. "I realized that while there were any number of women you could choose, you'd chosen Matsumoto. So this morning when I left you I ran to her, trying to apologize. She said you were just a friend and told me about how strange you've been acting this past week. She also seems to think… to think you love me." Her voice faltered with her last words.

"Of course I do, Nanao-chan. Never doubt that." He said quietly

"I- I thought all the joking and teasing was just to ruffle me."

"Maybe at one time it was, but not anymore."

Both were silent for a moment. He turned onto his side and propped his head up with an elbow so he could look at her face. Her cheeks were stained a pink-red color of embarrassment. She turned to look into his eyes, and was saddened to realize she was the one who caused all the hurt and pain they reflected. The stab of pain in her chest was probably nothing compared to what he'd felt when she'd left.

"Do you regret last night?" He asked. His hand reached out to stroke her cheek. She closed her eyes and turned her head to kiss his rough palm.

"No." she whispered. A tear slipped down one of her cheeks and he brushed it aside with the back of his hand.

He leaned over and kissed her gently, wrapping his arms around her body and pulling her to him. She returned the kiss whole-heartedly, enjoying the feeling of being held tightly. One arm wrapped around his neck while the other stroked his cheek. When the kiss was broken, she lowered her head to rest on his chest.

"I'm so sorry." She whispered.

"Its okay, Nanao-chan." He held her close and stroked her hair. It was a few minutes until he spoke again. "That first night you brought scarves."

"I brought what?" She pulled back and looked at his face to see if he was joking.

"Scarves. You tied me up and had your evil way with me."

"I did not."

"Yes you did."

"Impossible."

"Well, you could have."

She sighed. "Hmmm… I have to say, having you tied up sounds strangely appealing …"

"Oh? Sounds like fun."

"Yes, I'm thinking of you tied to your desk."

"What a naughty girl, thinking of office sex." His eyes lit up, intrigued by the possibilities.

"I meant tying you to the desk to keep you from escaping your paperwork."

"Oh…"

"There have to be some ground rules." She said.

"Like what?"

"No messing around in the office."

"Of course not."

"No public displays of affection."

"Certainly not."

"No telling anyone about this."

"Are you ashamed Nanao-chan?"

"No, but ethically, as captain and vice-captain we shouldn't be dating."

"Matsumoto has probably told everyone by now."

"She probably hasn't even gotten out of bed yet. I'll threaten her; there are some very _interesting_ photos from the academy."

"Will you show me those photos?"

Nanao ignored the request. "We'll keep separate rooms."

"You've got too many books. Where would you put me?"

"And knock off all the Nanao-chan stuff."

"You would take away the best part of my day."

Nanao sighed.

"Very well, I'll tone it down a bit." He conceded. "If I stop completely, people will get suspicious."

"Fine. No paperwork, no sex."

"Oh, now that's not fair, Nanao-chan."

"Every good boy deserves a reward, right?"

"Mmmm. My turn. You wear your hair down."

"Only when I'm not in the office."

"Quit beating me with that book."

"I'll only do it when you deserve it."

"Nothing's going to change then, is it?"

"Nope."

"No seeing that guy from the fifth,"

"He was just helping me take the paperwork to the first division. And to hear Matsumoto tell it, after you talked with him, he's probably hiding from me."

"And we can come lay like this for an hour each afternoon."

"Only an hour?"

He lifted her face to his. "Whatever you want, Nanao-chan."

**... ooo OOO ooo OOO ooo ... **

too much fluff? please review and let me know if and how i should change it or if it even made sense.  
thanks for reading!


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